Distributing apparatus for bituminous and like material



April 25, 1950 a. M. ETNYRE DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR BITUMINOUS AND LIKE MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Original Filed Aug. 1, 1940 )5 M @4120 a O I NL M A ril 25, 1950 G. M. ETNYRE 2,505,390 DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR snummous 4 AND LIKE MATERIAL Original Filed Aug. 1, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mp Geo/ye 62)? re April 25, 1950 G. M. ETNYRE 2,505,390

msmmuwmc APPARATUS FOR snummous AND LIKE MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Aug. 1, 19 40 Wow Geczye 62)? re fla w ms x Patented Apr. 25, 1950 DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR BITU- MINOUS AND LIKE MATERIAL I George M. Etnyre, Oregon, Ill., assignor to E. D. Etnyre &' 00., Oregon, 111., a corporation of Illinois Original application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,218. Divided and this application June 21,

1944;. Serial N0.-541,418

3 Claims. (Cl. 29934) I I 1 V The invention relates uting such bituminous and like materials as asphalt, road-oil, tar and emulsion employed in road construction and maintenance, and more particularly to an improved distributor bar and its associated conduit and control system.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 349,218, filed August 1, 1940, now Patent No. 2,372,065, issued March 20,

A. general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved distributing apparatus for applying material of. this nature to road or like surfaces effectively and which embodiesnovel relationships of elements for adapting the apparatus to meet differing operating as well as idle conditions. a V

I Another objectis to provide new and improved means for effectively draining and clearing the distributing system of'residual material without waste. 1

Another object is to provide in apparatus of this character novel means for supporting the distributor or spray bar for movement to various positions from a normal dis'tributing position at adjustable-vertical levels including movement to an inverted position for drainage, to a compactly folded relation for traveling and movement to clear an obstruction.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a distribut or bar having a plurality of sectioils in longitudinal alinement during distributing operation and joined together by connector fittings through which material flows to or from the sections and which are disposed above the bar during distribution and rotatably supported for swinging the bar to a'position above the connector fittings for draining material therefrom.

' Iii" conjunction with the foregoing, it is an ob-, j'ect of thisinvention to provide walls in the sec; tionsof the distributor bar which slope downwardly "toward the connector fittings whenthe bar'is in'an inverted position for draining. V I

Qther objects and advantages will become ap. parent in the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view showing in side elevation distributing apparatus embodying the features ofthe inventionr V Fig. 2'is1'a fragmentary view looking toward the. rar'of the apparatus; parts thereof being, shown in sectionfl i "Fig; 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale takenas indicated by'tlie line3-3 of Fig. 2,

to apparatus for distrib- 2 Fig. 4 is a sectionalview transversely through the distributor means in operative position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the distributor means in inverted position.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 7.

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic view looking toward the rear side of the distributor means in the operative position thereof.

Fig. 8 is a similar view but showing the distributor means in inverted position.

Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the distributor means in idle traveling position.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic plan view of the distributor means illustrating movement of an end section thereof to clear an obstacle.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawings and will herein describe in detail, thepreferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit .the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternativeconstructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Since systems embodying the present invention may be used without substantial modifications in conjunction with various types of supply tanks, truck chassis, and control apparatus, it has not been deemed necessary herein to illustrate or describefully such correlated mechanisms.

.In the drawings, the numeral 20 designates a supply tank or reservoir which may be of conven tionalform supported upon a truck chassis or the like. The chassis may include a rearwardly extending frame illustrated fragmentarily at 2| for supporting certain parts of the distributorsystem. Near its rearend the lower side of the tank has avalve casing 22 rigidly secured thereto and communicating with the interior of the supply tank. H A valve, housed within the valve casing and manipulated by the lever 23, controls the flow of material from the tank. On the other side of the valve casing the flow passage therein communicates with the intake side of a suitable force pump (not shown) which preferably is a gear pump housed within a pump casing 24. A conduit .25 communicates with the downwardly opening pressure side of the pump and leads rearwardly therefrom to communicate with a transverseheader 26. At the ends of the header are valve casings 2'! housing valves (not shown) having operating stems 2 8 engageable by. control "i shafts 29 shown only in Fig. 1. These valves con trol the flow of fluid material from the header 26 to supply conduits 30 and also to a return line 3| which is connected to an upstanding conduit 32 opening into the supply tank.

The present structure embodies two supply conduits 30 and each supply conduit 30 adjacent to the valve casing 21 includes a connection designated 33 serving as a sump toward which material drains by gravity from the valves and conduits on both sides thereof when not forced otherwise by the pump. From this connection the conduit extends outwardly in a direction transverse to the longitudinal line of the assembly (sidewise of the truck) to a rearwardly extending elbow 34 that communicates through a ball and socket joint 35 with a rearwardly extending conduit section 36 which connects through another ball and socket joint 31 with an elbow fitting 38 (Figs. 1 and 3).

The elbow fitting 38 includes one section arranged for connection in the ball and socket joint 37 and an externally screw threaded flange section 39 which, in assembly, faces transverselyoutwardly of the center line of the truck. Opposite the flange is a boss 40 having one end of a tubular tie rod 4| seated thereon. The tie rod extends between the bosses 40, thus linking the supply conduits together in definitely alined relation.

As shown in Fig.3, the outwardly facing flange section 39 is internally flared as at 42 to receive the complementally tapered flow connector or nose portion 43 of a hollow substantially U-shaped distributor bar connector fitting 44; the flow connector or nose portion 43 communicating with one side of the hollowconnecting portion of the substantially U -shaped connector fitting and pro- Jecting therefrom. The means, by which the elbow section 39 and the connector fitting 44 are secured together, is of a type which permits of relative rotational movement of the connector fitting about the axis of the flared opening 42 and flow connector portion 43, through which rotational movement the distributor bar is swung as a unit from a distributing position to draining or traveling positions, as shown in Figs. '7, 8, and 9. Thus, an outstanding flange 45 on the connector fitting adjacent to the flow connector or, nose portion 43 thereof is in assembly disposed in slightly spaced relation to the end face of the flange section 39 for engagement by an annular flange 45 on a nut 41 engaging the external screw threads on the flange section 39. Preferably, a type of split nut having adjusting screws 48 is employed to maintain a relationship between the connected parts that will be fluid-tight yet per-. mit the connector fitting to rotate relative t2) the flange section 39. Y r .;As may be seen in Fig. '7, the means by which the fluid material is distributed uniformly over an underlying road surface is composed of several sections. As shown, the distributor'means,

orthe distributorbar as a whole, comprises two,

central sections 49 and two end sections 511. Each section has a plurality of spray nozzles i extending in alined longitudinallyspaced relation along one side thereof. -This side, during operation, is the lower side of the bar sections. Each of the central and end sections 49 and 50 have inclined upper surfaces 5i) so that the material in these sections will drain back into the connector fittings 44 when the distributor bar is inverted. One endof each section is closed and the other end has an angularly disposed connector elbow or annular flange 52 extending outwardly from the side thereof opposite to the spray nozzles.

Each substantially U-shaped connector fitting 44 has a pair of axially spaced annular flanges 53 on one side thereof and at the ends of the legs of the U-shape, the legs of the U-shape extending therefrom in parallelism for connection with the elbows or flanges 52 on the distributor bar sections. This connection with the central bar sections 49 is a rigid one and is obtained in any suitable manner as by providing a collar 54 on the end of the flange 52 of the central section 49 through which securing screws 55 extend into engagement with enlarged margins of the flange 53. The central sections extend toward each other from their connections with the connector fittings 44 and are preferably enclosed within a protective shroud 56.

The end sections 50 are secured to the connector fittings 44 for rotational movement about the axes of the flanges 52, 53, which axes are substantially perpendicular to the rotational axes of the connector fittings 44 to the elbow fittings 38. To this end, each end section elbow or flange 52 has a. collar 51 secured thereto for abutting engagement with the end face of the connector fitting flange 53 and the collars 51 have an annular rib 58 engageable by a gland nut 59 screw threaded onto the end of the flange 53. To enable the operator to vary the overall length of the distributor bar, each end section may itself. be divided into sections and such sections provided with quickly detachable securing means indicated generally at 5!! permitting an end of one length to be removed and replaced by another end of dif= ferent length.

The distributor bar is preferably mounted for adjustment as a unit to different vertical levels as well as transversely in a direction along its longitudinal axis. Although the vertical and transverse adjustment features are somewhat incident/al to the invention covered by this application, they are briefly explained to complete the disclosure and particularly to emphasize the flow conduits and their relation to the drainage and cleaning of the system. Thus, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the distributor bar and the supply clinduits leading thereto'from the'b'all and socket joints 35 are supported by swinging frames generally designated 51' having substantially universal movement. Depending from each side of the frame 2| is a bracket 52 supporting a transversely extending rod 63. Pivotally mounted on each end of the rod is a link 64 which extends outwardly and downwardly and carries an outwardly extending stud 65. The stud pivotally supports a frame section 65 'having vertically spaced bearings 66 thereon. Straddling the bearings 66 and pivotally supported'thereby are spaced ears 51 on an end of the swinging frame 6 l. Theaxes of these pivotal connections are located substantially on the transverse plane that includes the center of movement of the ball and socket joint 35. The frameextends rearwardly from these pivotal connections and at its other end has spaced ears 68 which pivotally support between them by a stud H a block 69 having arms 10 (Figs. 2 and 3) extending inwardly from the elbow fitting 38. I

The means by which the swingingframe BI is shifted transversely is not herein shown. Vertical movement of the distributor bar to various levels may be manually effected through a rock shaft 13 mounted on the bracket 62 and movable manually by an operators handle 14'. A lever arm 75 on the rock shaft is connected by linkage 16, 17 with the frame section 65, the arrange- -ment being such that movement of the rock shaft clined relationship will be present in any verti-" cal position of adjustment of the distributor bar. In the present instance, this means is in the form of a quadrant 18 associated with the operators handle 14 and so arranged with respect thereto that one end of the quadrant. designated"), forms a stop for limiting thedownward swinging movement of thefram'e. In the present instance, the lowermost position is substantially limited to one in which the line between the centers of the ball and socket joints 35 and 3! falls along the line designated 80 (Fig. 1). The

highest maximum movement of the frame is designated by the line 8|.

During the distributing operation, the distributor bar asa whole extends downwardly from the elbow fittings 38, movement'to this position being permitted by rotation of the connector fittings 44 relativejto the fittin 38'to a] position in which the distributor bar is below theconnector fittings and the'n'ozz'les face downwardly. This position of the distributor 'bar is shown in Figs. 4 and 7. To drain'the distributor bar, it'i's swung upwardly about the axis 'of the flow connectors or nose portions '43 of the connector fittings 44, which axis is substantially parallel to the distributor bar, to an inverted position in which, as shown in Fig. 5, the distributor bar is above its axis of rotation and the connector fittings. This swinging movement may be effected in any suitable manner as by an operating link 82 (Figs. 1 and 4) pivotally connected to an ear 83 on one of the central bar sections andan operating lever 84.

Such means as a chain 85, connected to the lever 84 and arranged for engagement along its length by a hook or the like (not shown), may be employed to maintain the distributor bar in any position above the distributing position shown in Fig. 4. If desired, a stop lug 86 may be secured to the link 82 for engagement with one of the elbow connectors 38. The lug is arranged to prevent the link 82 from swinging into engagement with the connector elbow when the distributor is released to swing downwardly, which engagement, unless prevented, might bend the link. The engagement of the lug 86 with the connector elbow acts in conjunction with the link 82 to restrain the distributor bar against incidental swinging movement.

In its inverted position, all of the residual material in the distributor and in the supply conduits leading thereto is above the points of connection of the supply conduit 30 with the connections 33 which serve as sumps and the material will, therefore, drain toward these points by gravity. Preferably, means is provided for withdrawing material from the sumps provided by the low points of the connections 33 and discharging it into the tank. Thus, the valve casing 22 is provided with a filling conduit 81 through which, by a proper arrangement of the valves in the valve casings 22 and 21, material from an outside source may be drawn through the filling conduit 81 and pumped into the supply tank through 6 conduit 25, header 26, return line 3| and conduit 32. The filling conduit 81 when not in use is arranged to be closed by a suitable cap (not shown). A valve casing 88 communicates with the filling conduit 81 and a valve in the casing (not shown), having an operating stem 89, is

arranged to establish communication between the filling conduit and a pair of pipe lines 90. Each of these lines leads to one of the sumps or connections 33 and opens near the bottom thereof. When the system is set as above described to fill the supply tank, but with the filling conduit 8lcapped and the valve in the valve case set to connect the lines 90 with the filling conduit,

' the pump 'will draw all of the residual material out of the distributor bar and the supply conduits" leading thereto and return such material to the supply tank. Thus, the operator, by merely inverting the distributor bar, can effectively clean the system without wasting the material.

Ashas' been mentioned, the end sections 50 of the distributor bar are rotatable with respect to the connector fitting 44. When the distributor bar is in its depending operative position, as shown-in Fig. 10, the axes on which the end sections are mounted are vertical. This arrangement permits either end section to swing rearwardly to clear any obstacle 9| that it may encounter during movement of the apparatus along the road. Swinging movement in a return direction may be effected in any suitable manner as by elevating the distributor bar slightly so that an unalined end section will swing back by gravity or by spring means (notshown). The return movement is limited by such means as stop fingers 92 carried by the end sections for engagement with a part of the adjacent central section.

Another important feature resulting from the relationship of the axe of the distributor bar and the end sections is that it permits the distributor bar to be quickly placed in condition for traveling to and from a point of distribution. With reference to Fig. 9, the distributor bar may be arranged for traveling by merely swinging the bar about its transverse axis to a position in which the spray nozzles face rearwardly and have a slight upward inclination so that the connector fittings slope downwardly from the distributor bar to fiow passages. The end sections may then be swung upwardly about their then horizontal axes to slightly inwardly inclined positions as determined by such means as stop lugs 93 on the frame 2|. For added security, means may be provided for more firmly connecting the end sections to the frame. In this position the end and intermediate sections tend to drain any residual material through the connector fittings to the pump.

I claim as my invention:

1. In distributing apparatus of the character described, the combination of distributing means including a plurality of elongated substantially longitudinally alined sections, means for supplying material to be distributed to each of said sections, means for supporting each of the end sections of said distributor means for swinging movement on a vertical axis during a distributing operation, and means for swinging said distributor means as a whole to a position in which said vertical axis approaches a horizontal position so that an end section that has swung about its axis will by gravity return to its normal alined position, said means for swinging said distributor being operable to return said distributor as a whole to a position in which the axes about which-:said end sections-swing are in' arsubstantially -,-vertica1.,- position.

r2-. :In distributing apparatus of the character described, the combination Ora-distributor bar including longitudinally alined intermediate-and projecting end sections, meansincluding a supplyrtankga pump 'andconduits for supplying materi-ahfor distribution through each of said sections, said projectingend sections each being connected'at' one end'to an end of the intermediate section through the legs of'a substantially U- shaped connector fitting, the substantially U- shaped-fittings each including connector means providing a flow passage communicating withthe connecting portion thereofzintermediate the legs and angularly-disposed with respect to the legs, said distributor bar being normally below said fittings during the distribution of material, meanssupporting. said bar and fittings for swinging'movem'ents asya'unitabout; a horizontal axis extending through said connector means to an inverted; positioninwhich said'fittings are below the'banuwsaid conduits being connected to said connectorimeans and sloping downwardly therefrom :.t0:a sump, the sections of said distributor barincluding walls sloping downwardlytoward said-fittings when the bar isin said inverted position, whereby in said inverted position of the bar the sections thereof drain by gravity through said fittingstosaidsump, and means including said pump for pumping the material from the sump to the supply tank.

-3-. In'apparatus of the character described, the combination'of .a distributor bar-having a row ofspaced'nozzles on one side thereof and con nector elbows-at theendsextending from the bar ina direction-away from thenozzles, connector ..fittings havingflow passages adjoining and connected to said elbows .and having-angularly extending portion substantially parallel to the distributor bar, said angularly extending portions having a common axis, means supporting said angularly extending portion for rotary movement about said axis-to swing the distributor bar between positions in which the. nozzles face downwardly and upwardly, and partitioningmeans in said distributor bar dividing the barinto sectionsand providing-walls in said ,sectionssloping downwardly toward said-elbows from adjacent ends of the sections-when the distributor bar is in a position suchthat the nozzles face upwardly, whereby said sectionsdrain by gravity through said elbows andfittings.

' GEORGE M. ETNYRE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in-the file of thisrpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS l lumber Name Date 1,001,014 French .Aug. 22, 1911 1,159,343 Gailor Nov. .2, 1915 1,490,522 Stocker Apr. 15, 1924 2,011,894 Etnyre Aug.i20, 1935 2,046,373 Etnyre. .July 7, 1936 2,123,156 Jagoe July 5, 1938 2,256,639 Erickson Sept.. 23, 1941 2,272,544 Cederstrom Feb. 10,1942 2,346,478 Etnyre Apr. ,11, 1944 2,372,065 Etnyre Mar. 20, 9 

